If you've been having problems with the site since last week (Friday 18 May) please read this. (Hide this message)

French Horn Rebellion - Beaches & Friends

Beaches & Friends by French Horn Rebellion

4...according to our on Thu 25 Mar, 2010.


These are 2 American fellows who make a sort of messy confused acid-fueled electro pop which is one of the busiest pop records I've heard in a while. It's a whole album of ideas crammed into 3 minutes. Weirdly it works tough I'm not entirely sure why.... I don't know why but when I listen to it I think of Martin Fry and ABC having a fight with Ceephax Acid Crew... pretty bonkers stuff...

TRACKLISTING:

Side A – Beaches & Friends (The Twelves Radio Edit)

Side B – Beaches & Friends (NYC Version)

 

OVERVIEW:

As 2009 drew to a close, for Robert and David Perlick-Molinari (aka French Horn Rebellion), two brothers born and bred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the world was a very different place to the one that started it. Since the release of their debut single “Up All Night”, FHR have been swept along by a flurry of accolades from radio, press and bloggers alike, including a Record of the Week from BBC Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw and the coveted Single of the Week slot in French music bible Les Inrockuptibles, who described the band’s sound as the “euphoric soundtrack to 2010”.

 

Now back in their current residence of Brooklyn, NY, after a whistle stop trip to Europe for a series of madcap shows and radio interviews, FHR are already planning a speedy return with “Beaches & Friends”, their new EP (with a difference) and recent Hype Machine No.1 slated for a March 1st release. And with the brothers currently cooped up in their studio lairs concocting some brand new musical potions for their forthcoming debut album, all bodes rather well for 2010.

 

“Up All Night”, released in September 2009 on new UK indie Once Upon A Time Records, also received radio plays from the likes of Kissy Sellout, Alex Metric, new boys Jaymo & Andy George and Zane Lowe on Radio 1 and from XFM tastemakers Eddie Temple Morris and John Kennedy.  Mixmag made it electro Tune of the Month, Artrocker gave it 5 stars for its “sparkling synths and vocal bridges of epic scale” and to top things off French label Kitsuné chose it for the highly prestigious opening slot on their latest Kitsuné Maison 8 Compilation. FHR also found themselves fans outside music circles, most notably in Graham Linehan, comedy writer (IT Crowd, The Fast Show) and member of Twitter’s royalty, who tweets about the band at every opportunity.

 

New single “Beaches & Friends” co-written with Brazilian duo Database, friends and recent touring mates of FHR, is not quite what you would expect though. Robert explains: “The coolest thing about ‘Beaches & Friends’ is that the original track doesn’t actually exist.  It was the result of a big collaboration between us and a bunch of our friends.  We and Database came up with the vocal hooks and synth lines, and from there all the different versions were created.  The French Horn Rebellion NYC version, Database’s Club Edit, the Twelves’ Radio and Remix versions, and finally the Hey Champ Remix.  Every track is a variation on a theme, a similar idea to Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” In fact the Beaches & Friends EP is kind of a modern-day Enigma Variations.” For David: “it’s a story about the search for your muse.”

 

The media response to Beaches & Friends has even eclipsed that of “Up All Night” with continued radio support from Radio 1 including DJ’s Annie Mac, Nick Grimshaw, Jaymo & Andy George and new queen of daytime Radio 1 Fearne Cotton already giving the single heavy spins. Tips for 2010 in Time Out London, influential dance magazines DJ and Mixmag and The Guardian and another Single of the Week in Les Inrockuptibles continue the press support. And on the live front a forthcoming UK tour, a prestigious support to Hot Chip in New York, a busy schedule at SXSW and an appearance at Paris Fashion Week will ensure the buzz continues to build well into 2010.

Be the first to review this record. Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!

You don't have to provide your email address, but without it we can't give you a prize if this is the month's best review!

Keep it civil, please!

Anti-spam question...